Minister Prabhu Orders Inspection of 2,000+ Stone Quarries Over Illegal Overquarrying Complaints

PRESS RELEASE Order of Hon'ble Minister for Natural Resources Dr. T.K. Prabhu to conduct inspections at stone quarries across Tamil Nadu. More than 2,000 stone quarries across Tamil Nadu have been granted permission by the Geology and Mining Department to extract stone. There have been continued complaints that stone is being extracted at these quarries in excess of the quantities permitted by the government. Similarly, the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) under the Central Government has issued various regulations regarding the quantity of stone that may be extracted from quarries. It is alleged that these regulations are being violated in many places. There have also been complaints that the monitoring teams known as Deputy Mines, who are responsible for overseeing quarries, have not been properly monitoring them. In this context, the Hon'ble Minister has ordered the Geology and Mining officials of each district to inspect all stone quarries across the state, ascertain whether stone extraction is being carried out in accordance with the government-granted permits, and whether extraction has exceeded the permitted quantities, and to immediately submit a report. Further, following complaints that stone quarries are operating illegally without government permission in several places, the Hon'ble Minister has directed the Geology and Mining officials to inspect all quarries, ascertain whether they are operating in accordance with the rules or illegally, and immediately gather the relevant details. The Hon'ble Minister stated that, based on the findings of the inspection, quarries found to have extracted stone in excess of permitted quantities in violation of government rules will be shut down immediately, and that penalties will be levied and immediate action taken for the loss caused to the government. Issued by: Director, Directorate of Information and Public Relations, Chennai-9